Why Do You Lie To Salespeople?

The way that you treat others is the way that you will be treated. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but karma has a way of coming back to you. This same principal applies to business (specifically in sales). So, are you creating good karma or bad karma in your business?

And when you lie to salespeople — or when you tell them the truth — what goes around will come back around.

Tell the truth — it sounds like the simplest thing in the world, but being completely honest with salespeople seems like a real challenge these days. Business owners think that salespeople are liars and will say anything to win the sale. But have you ever stopped to think about how many times you’ve lied to salespeople and will say anything to avoid the truth?

These lies can be as simple as telling a salesperson that you’ll think it over with no intention of doing any thinking; or telling them to call you next week and then not picking up the phone when they do; or maybe you have even told them to put together a proposal or send information without any regard for their time spent honoring your request. If you have, I ask you to think of the consequences.

Salespeople and professionals take the brunt of hostility, deception and disrespect every day in the marketplace. These professionals suffer from the reputation of being dishonest liars who will say or do anything to close the sale. Let me be clear, I’m not talking about the type of professionals who will say and do anything to get the sale. Those people do exist and unfortunately will be around for a long time. I’m standing for, and writing about, the professionals who wake up every day and attempt to accomplish an honest day’s work; the people with a great passion for their product, service or idea that are trying to make a decent living. Honest professionals do exist.

There is karma in sales — if you do a good deed today, it will come back to you in the same way. If you lie to salespeople, you or your staff will be lied to. If you treat another honest business owner with disrespect, you or your company will be on the receiving end of that too. That’s how karma works. As the old saying goes, karma is a bitch.

So, if buyers are lying because they think salespeople are lying, how do we alter this vicious cycle? I think we should start by simply telling each other the truth. That ‘honesty is the best policy’ was something I learned in Kindergarten. Telling the truth and being honest in sales and business means that we never have to worry about the sharp teeth of sales karma coming back to bite us in the ass.

Be honest with yourself, and don’t lie to another human being (no matter the stereotypes that exist about their profession) who is trying to make a living, the same as you.

Take into account how much time and money is being wasted by individuals not being honest with each other. Another professional is on the other end of the phone or an email simply doing their job. Shoot them straight, be up front, be honest. If you’re not interested, tell them this so that they may move on and use their time and resources elsewhere. Don’t tell them to call you next week, that their proposal looks great, that you need to think about it or that you will get back to them, with no intention of ever talking to them again.

Think about your business. How much more efficient and profitable would you be if you heard the truth from your clients and customers?

Sales karma is at play all day, every day, and when you least expect it, it will come back to bite you. Making honesty and serving others your number one priority, and the good karma will find its way to you and your business.